Toronto set to launch black-focused school

TORONTO (Reuters) - The largest school board in Canada
plans to launch a black-focused school to tackle the problem of
high dropout rates.

In a vote late on Tuesday, The Toronto District School
Board decided to move ahead with the project after months of
debate over the value of creating an Afro-centric school. About
12 percent of students in Toronto schools identify themselves
as black, according to government data.

"We are committed to providing the resources and supportive
learning environments that all our students need," Gerry
Connelly, a director of the TDSB, said in a press conference on
Wednesday.

The board said that the black-focused school will help give
at-risk students a better chance to succeed at university,
college or in the workplace.

The board committed to opening one Afro-centric school by
2009 and will also launch a program to teach the history and
culture of black Canadians in three existing high schools.

The Afro-centric school will teach subjects from the black
perspective, the board said, rather than from the traditional
perspective, which is seen as Euro-centric.

Educator Paul Green, who was present at the vote Tuesday
evening, said he was "elated" by the decision.

"It's been a long time coming. It's lost on people, but
this is 30 years of the same statistics," he said.
Continued...